The great intercessors of the Bible all approached God with a genuine sense of shame and embarrassment. They did not come into God's presence in order to cover up sin but to agree with His assessment of it, to face with stark honesty the wickedness of the culture around them. The prophet Jeremiah is a good example of this, as he stated:
"... For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, declares the Lord. Everyone take heed to his neighbor, and do not trust any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanderers. Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity." (Jeremiah 9:3-5)
Intercession is not an escape from reality. Our communication with God must be rooted in the truth - the eternal truth of His holy standards and the awful truth about our society as God sees it. The intercessor experiences the broken heart of God through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. The intercessor also identifies with the sin of the people, because the intercessor has personally contributed to God's grief.
Source: John Dawson - What Every Christian Should Know About Reconciliation, p. 19
One Multitude, a Multitude of Languages
(9) After these things I looked and saw before me a large multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before God’s throne and the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their right hands. (10) And they shouted with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”
Source: John the Beloved - Revelation 7:9-10 (IEB)
Luther's 1st Thesis
Next Monday we pick up the thread again in Augsburg, where Luther was first summoned to give account to Cardinal Cajetan. We visit St Anne’s Church where Luther stayed, and where more recently, in 1999, the dialogue between the Vatican and the Lutheran Church produced the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ).
This declaration revealed a major change of heart on behalf of the Catholic Church. On the basis of this declaration, Pope Benedict XIV, who–as Cardinal Ratzinger–was personally involved in the dialogue with the Lutherans, declared in St Peter’s Square in 2006 that Luther had been right about the doctrine of justification.
Which interestingly brings us back to Luther’s first thesis: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he intended the entire life of believers to be repentance.”
At stake for Luther was the meaning of repentance. Did the Latin phrase Poenitentiam agite mean ‘to do penance’ as an external penitential action, or ‘to repent’ as an inner heart change? Repentance, he concluded, meant a change of heart, a lifestyle of heart-change.
This insight, prompted by reading Erasmus’ Latin translation newly published in 1516, triggered a 500-year argument which at last has been resolved through both sides adopting a change-of-heart attitude.
Other significant differences still remain, involving the ordination of women and the sacraments. But if we would all take our cue from Luther’s first thesis, adopting a lifestyle of heart-change, this commemoration year could be one of great mutual discovery.
Source: Jeff Fountain - "The Thunderclap from Wittenberg", Weekly Word eNewsletter, 3 July 2017, https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15d07442002018f4
2017
With respect to 2017, [Catholics and Lutherans] should renew their effort with gratitude for what has already been accomplished, with patience and perseverance since the road may be longer than expected, with eagerness that does not allow for being satisfied with the present situation, with love for one another even in times of disagreement and conflict, with faith in the Holy Spirit, with hope that the Spirit will fulfill Jesus' prayer to the Father, and with earnest prayer that this may happen.
Source: Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity - Conflict to Communion: Report of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, p. 88
Be a Public Defender ... not a Prosecutor
It was a hard moment - followed by a great healing light - when the Lord made me face up to my judgmental attitude, the one that was blocking any effective ministry by me among those I thought to be wrong in their ways.
"You're not forgiving," He stated flatly. "You're a public prosecutor, judging everybody in sight. But I want you to be a public defender - not a public prosecutor."
Source: David du Plessis - From "A Man Called Mr. Pentecost", as told to Bob Slosser, Ch. 18, p. 163
Nehemiah, part 2
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.
Source: Nehemiah - Nehemiah 9:1-3 (NIV)
"Resistance is a sign that the body is alive"
Francis was aware that a number of cardinals and curial officials present as he spoke are engaged in such resistance, including Cardinals Burke and Sarah, but he declared “the absence of reaction is a sign of death!” whereas resistance “is a sign that the body is alive.”
Consequently, he said, “the good resistances—and even the less good ones—are necessary and merit to be listened to, received and encouraged to express themselves.”
Source: Pope Francis - "Pope Francis Speaks about the Reform of the Roman Curia and the Resistance to it", by Gerard O'Donnell, America - The National Catholic Review, 22 Dec 2016, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/pope-francis-speaks-about-reform-roman-curia-and-resistance-it
The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral ... from the 1880s
[The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral is the ]statement of the four Anglican essentials for a reunited Christian Church. It concerns the scriptures, creeds, sacraments, and the historic episcopate. It was approved by the House of Bishops at the 1886 General Convention in Chicago, and subsequently approved with modifications by the bishops of the Anglican Communion at the Lambeth Conference of 1888.
...
The four points of the Quadrilateral were listed by the Chicago statement as "inherent parts" of the sacred deposit of Christian faith and order "committed by Christ and his Apostles to the Church unto the end of the world, and therefore incapable of compromise or surrender. . . ." The Chicago statement lists the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. With respect to baptism and the eucharist, the Chicago statement calls for administration of these sacraments "with unfailing use of Christ's words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him." The Chicago version expressed the fourth part of the Quadrilateral in terms of "The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of His Church." Although the Quadrilateral was not enacted by the House of Deputies at the 1886 General Convention, it was incorporated in a general plan referred for study and action by the newly created Joint Commission on Christian Reunion.
...
At the 1895 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the Commission on Christian Unity was continued with the goal of seeking Christian unity on the basis of the "principles enunciated throughout the Declaration of the house of Bishops made at Chicago in 1886, and as reaffirmed by the Lambeth Conference of 1888." Thus for the first time the entire General Convention of the Episcopal Church affirmed the Quadrilateral in its Lambeth form. The Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral has continued to serve as the primary Anglican working document and reference point for ecumenical Christian reunion. The Chicago and Lambeth versions of the Quadrilateral are included in the historical documents of the 1979 BCP (pp. 876-878).
Source: Episcopalchurch.org - "Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral", glossary entry for episcopalchurch.org
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/chicago-lambeth-quadrilateral
Nehemiah
16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands. 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.
19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. 21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
Source: Nehemiah - Nehemiah 9:16-21 (NIV)
The Archdiocese of Atlanta
Beginning in 1908, Christians have observed an annual time to pray for the ultimate gift of full unity. The observance began in New York with Episcopalians and Catholics and has since developed into a worldwide octave of Prayer for Christian Unity. The octave concludes with the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on Jan. 25. This year, I shared in the ecumenical prayer service at Emory University on Jan. 24 and joined my voice with those Christians of other denominations asking the Lord to heal our divisions and in His grace and time to unite us more perfectly in Christ Jesus.
I hope that many such opportunities for ecumenical prayer and fellowship will connect the communities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta with our Christian neighbors and friends. We have recently made great progress in learning how to care for one another with greater mutual respect and affection.
Source: Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory - The Georgia Bulletin, "The love of Christ compels us to reconcile", 26 Jan 2017, https://georgiabulletin.org/commentary/2017/01/love-christ-compels-us-reconcile/ (ALSO IN SPANISH at https://georgiabulletin.org/commentary/2017/01/el-amor-de-cristo-nos-apremia-reconciliarnos/?lang=es)
40 Days for Life
"There were many beautiful Holy Spirit moments at our kickoff," the Atlanta leader said, "but something that really delighted my heart was seeing Protestant and Catholic, black and white coming together in prayer to seek God's heart and pray for our community. Already this shows the healing power of God that He longs to pour out everywhere!"
Source: Shawn D. Carney - Quoting the Atlanta leader of 40 Days for Life in "Day 3: The Lord's Call for Unity" eNewsletter, https://yh125.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/92618968/0dae2e849b01799c
One Report of the Situation in Germany
The churches in Germany have not yet overcome all their differences, but they have learned to work together. During the rule of the National Socialists there were Christians who collaborated with the government. Others, however, offered resistance and were even imprisoned or sent to a concentration camp. The common experience of living and suffering under the dictatorship of the Nazis brought Christians of different traditions closer together. Today, German churches do a much better job of cooperating in order to fulfill the mission of the Church and witness to the Gospel in word and deed. Because the Roman Catholic Church and the EKD each have many members, they also make up a large part of the ecumenical cooperation that takes place in Germany.
Source: Council of Churches in Germany (ACK) - "The Ecumenical Situation in Germany", http://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/prayer_worship/ecumenical_situation_in_Germany.html
Paul 2 Timothy
(11) But you Timothy, a devoted man of God, run away from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Source: The Apostle Paul - 1 Timothy 6:11
Hainburg, Austria
This year, 2020, marks a significant anniversary in the history of Hainburg, in fact for the whole country of Austria. In the year 1420, an expulsion of the Jewish people began in some communities such as Hainburg; the expulsion ended very tragically on March 12, 1421, with the remaining Jews who had refused baptism were burned at the stake in the present day third district of Vienna. The rich were put into prison, many were forcefully baptized, and those who refused were put onto small rafts and sent down the Danube river towards present day Bratislava. These were very dark days.
To remember this anniversary two small events took place. In July a small group from the TJCII Come and See Course gathered in Hainburg to pray and remember the events of 1420. We prayed that this history would not be forgotten. We realized that the old synagogue next to the Mysterium Christi house (that is about 700 years old) was probably last used as a synagogue 600 years ago. Yet, the building still stands and has surely seen much history. We want to hold it in remembrance. May it be as the stump from Isaiah 11:1!
The second event took place on the afternoon of September 27, right before the eve of Yom Kippur. A small group gathered in the Hainburg parish of Sts. Phillip and James to remember the events, pray together, and ask forgiveness for these events of the past.
Source: Sr. Mary Paul Friemel - Hainburg Report, December 2020 No. 18
Defining Ourselves as "Against"
The Catholic and Lutheran confessions have in the course of history defined themselves against one another and suffered the one-sidedness that has persisted until today when they grapple with certain problems, such as that of authority. Since the problems originated from the conflict with each other, they can only be solved or at least addressed through common efforts to deepen and strengthen their communion. Catholics and Lutherans need each other's experience, encouragement and critique.
Source: Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity - Conflict to Communion: Report of the Lutheran - Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, p. 87
Bucer - The Other Martin
There were fourteen other points they agreed upon easily, but on the fifteenth, the exact nature of the Eucharist, they found no common ground. During the final hours of the Luther/Zwingli stalemate, the other Martin (Bucer) was asked to mediate. It was known that Bucer was open to some sort of compromise, but he was unable to broker any that day. Martin L. rebuffed Martin B, whom he referred to as a chatterbox. “Your spirit and our spirit do not coincide. On the contrary, it is obvious that we do not have one and the same spirit.”
So in the end, Luther and Zwingli made it an all-or-nothing proposition, parting without so much as a handshake. But the other Martin refused to give up. In the weeks following the Colloquy, Bucer called for unity even in the midst of disagreement. He wrote, “If you immediately condemn anyone who doesn’t quite believe the same as you do as forsaken by Christ’s Spirit, and consider anyone to be an enemy of truth who holds something false to be true, who, pray tell, can you still consider a brother? I for one have never met two people who believed exactly the same thing. This holds true in theology as well.”
But few listened. This impasse set the stage for countless schisms and factions that would mar the church for centuries to come.
Source: David Peters - "The Other Martin", Church History Institute, April 2017, https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/blog/post/the-other-martin/
Ashton Cumberbatch
[In] 1998 … then Mayor, Kirk Watson, called together a group of leaders to draft a “Commitment to Racial Reconciliation” in response to a racially charged police event in the city. That document declared the equality of the races and the evil of racism. [It] used much of what had already been worked through by a small group of Christian pastors and their wives in 1996 in writing the “Pastoral Covenant for Racial Reconciliation.”
…
The team consisted of Pastor Geno Hildebrandt … Pastor Rick Randall … ; Pastor [Joseph] Parker … and Ashton Cumberbatch, a lawyer, pastor, and civic leader, both of African-American descent; and their spouses. Ashton Cumberbatch described the document: “It took a year. It acknowledged that racism is a sin and set out some scriptures that supported that. It said that we have fallen short of the glory of God in that area, and it talked about things we could do in our individual congregations, and what we could do collectively to combat that. we presented our document to a larger group that existed at the time - Austin Pastors Prayer Fellowship. They thought there was merit, so we had a signing event. I think originally 65 to 70 pastors signed the document.”
Source: Thana Rolph - "Transforming Austin: A God Story", Chapter 5 "The Deep Soil of Relationship", pp. 43-44
Looking Towards Shared Future
In the document the leaders "confess our guilt before God on behalf of our churches, asking God and each other for forgiveness and committing ourselves before God to continue to deepen our togetherness."
A service "of penitence and reconciliation" will be held on 11 March next year in the German city of Hildesheim with local churches encouraged to follow suit.
Other ecumenical initiatives to mark the anniversary include a pilgrimage to Israel / Palestine by church leaders.
Pope Francis is also set to begin marking the occasion next month with a service alongside Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, at Lund, in Sweden. They will pray for forgiveness and ask for healing of the wounds inflicted on each other since the Reformation.
Source: Harry Farley - As quoted by Harry Farley, "After centuries of separation, evangelicals and Catholics look to shared future", Christian Today eMagazine, 22 September 2016, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/after.centuries.of.separation.evangelicals.and.catholics.look.to.shared.future/96072.htm
Creedal ... Baptists?
The Apostles’ Creed is one of the most significant compilations of Christian beliefs in the history of the church. However, Southern Baptists have avoided it throughout our lifetime, citing the Bible as their sole creed.
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We picked [reading] the Apostles’ Creed because it is concise, clear, and well known. When we detected that some members began to regard the creed with a sanctity that only belonged to scripture or as a point of ecclesiological pride, we occasionally replaced it with the Ligonier's Statement on Christology. We did this to demonstrate the vitality of new and serious corporate statements that reflected historical orthodoxy. We also did this to mitigate against ecclesiological and denominational pride (it’s a Presbyterian document being recited by Baptists!). Either statement serves the same purpose and emphasize the important things we believe both in the statements themselves and in the act of saying them.
Source: D. Jeffrey Mooney and Adrian Martinez - "How One Church Introduced Reading the Creeds", Center for Baptist Renewal blog post, 1 March 2019
http://www.centerforbaptistrenewal.com/blog/2019/3/1/how-one-church-introduced-reading-the-creeds
Phoenix, Arizona
Our J17 leadership has decided that our only mission is to bring Christians together in worship and prayer, believing that our unity efforts will be a significant factor in building kingdom collaborations for the good of our city and state. Direct and indirect outcomes of our J17 Movement include:
• AZ127 (www.az127.com), based on James 1:27, is a local church and parish movement to reduce significantly the number of foster children in our state system by getting kids into Christian homes. In the last couple years, AZ127 has place more children in foster care homes than all the other agencies of the state combined. The movement was initially formed and led by three evangelical megachurches, but in the last year, Paul Mulligan, President of Phoenix Catholic Charities, “translated” the AZ127 content into Catholic language, and the diocese has adopted AZ127 as a model for families in their parishes to open their homes to foster kids.
• For the last eighteen months I’ve been serving as the Phoenix Mobilizer for American Bible Society’s 6-city scripture engagement campaign. Bishop Olmstead has given me his full blessing to spearhead a decade-long Bible engagement movement for the Diocese of Phoenix. Key Catholic priests and parish leaders have come together to develop and implement a plan.
• The Arizona director of Alpha (http://alphausa.org/), Jad Levi, who also serves on our John 17 Movement advisory team, has had remarkable favor with the diocese. In the next six months, about two dozen of the 93 parishes in the diocese will be launching Alpha as a part of the the New Evangelization to bring Catholics and their friends into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. The website of the USCCB states, “The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize” (http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teac…/…/new-evangelization/).
Source: Gary Kinnaman - Presented during Movement Day NYC, representing the John 17 movement and Greater Phoenix and Arizona Catholic/Evangelical Bridges, as posted on the John 17 FB page on 1 November 2016.